welcome to today's encouragement from our daily bread reading titled hearing Christ not chaos was written by Patricia Raven after watching TV News 4 hours each day the elderly man grew agitated and anxious worried the world was falling apart and taking him with it please turn it off his grown daughter begged him just stop listening but the man continued to spend an excessive amount of time on social media and other news sources
 what we listen to matters deeply we see this in Jesus's encounter was Pontius Pilate in John chapter 18
 responding to criminal charges brought against Jesus by religious leaders Pilots summoned him and asked are you the king of the Jews Jesus replied with a stunning question is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me
 the same question test us in a world of panic are we listening to chaos or to Christ
 indeed my sheep listen to my voice he said I know them and they follow me
 Jesus use this figure of speech to explain himself to doubting religious leaders as with a good shepherd He said that his sheep follow him because they know his voice but they will never follow a stranger in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice
 is our Good Shepherd Jesus bids us to hear him above all may we listen well and find his peace
 today's our daily bread devotional scripture reading is from John chapter 10 verses 1 through 6 and verse 27
 very truly I tell you Pharisees anyone who does not enter the Sheep pen by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber the one who enters by the gate is The Shepherd of the sheep the gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the Sheep listen to his voice he calls his own Sheep by name and leads them out when he has brought out all his own he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice but they will never follow a stranger in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a strange voice
 Jesus use this figure of speech that the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them and now verse 27 my sheep listen to my voice I know them and they follow me
 let's pray together
 Heavenly Father this world has a lot of noise in it
 noise that touches our hearts our minds and our spirits but through your scripture do your work God we can hear you
 help us to hear you over everything and rest in your voice
 in your name we pray amen
 thanks for listening today my name is Joyce Jenkins and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries